Through Fire and Wind
by shinigamigirl196
Summary: Uzumaki Akane wished not for the third time that day that her brother's spontaneous attitude had not leeched into his clothing style, because that bright orange jumpsuit was like pasting a neon sign to his face saying: "Newly graduated Genin, please attack!" Why couldn't the daughter of the Yondaime have a simpler life?
1. A Child is Born

**Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto**

**Through Fire and Wind: Chapter One: A Child is Born**

**AN: Alright, so I'm obviously very obsessed with Naruto right now, so I decided to do another fic. I remember when I said I wasn't going to write another Naruto fic…but I lied to myself.**

**This is one where Kushina and Minato first had a little girl about four or so years before Naruto, and I'm looking forward to writing her when she's not baby-babbling…I also have never had a child, so I'm not exactly sure how all babies act so…bear with me, yeah?**

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><p>Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina had barely been married four months when they found out she was pregnant. It came as a surprise, but a pleasant one, no matter the worry of the Sandaime Hokage. It was only months later that they discovered she would be birthing a girl, something that made them both ecstatic (not that they wouldn't like to have a boy, but girls just liked to be doted on).<p>

She would be born in February, only three months after Kushina's friend, Uchiha Mikoto would give birth to her firstborn son.

But it was different for Kushina, because she had a raging demon inside her that could threaten the lives of the village if it was released during childbirth when the seal on her stomach was the weakest. Giving birth outside of the village was out of the question, since there was a war currently going on, so Kushina was taken deep down under the village, surrounded by ANBU and attended to only by Biwako-sama, the Sandaime's wife, and Taji-san, a member of ANBU who was also a Medic-nin, as well as Minato himself, being the only one with prowess in Fuuinjutsu to keep the beast contained.

It was hours before he strengthened the seal that kept the Kyuubi inside of her and hours before he finally saw the life that he and Kushina had created.

"She's beautiful," he breathed, rocking the small bundle of joy in his arms as he held her towards Kushina. A small tuft of bright red hair adorned her soft head and bright blue eyes gazed up at him in awe. "What should we name her?"

Kushina's eyes were soft as she traced a light finger down her daughter's cheek. "…Akane. Uzumaki Akane."

He gave her a small smile. "Not Namikaze?"

"Do you know how many enemies you have, Minato?" Kushina snorted, pulling herself into a sitting position with a groan. "Trust me, Uzumaki's safer."

"Well, she does look a bit more Uzumaki and Namikaze," Minato mused with a smile. "Akane's perfect. Thank you, Kushina."

"Hm?" the scarlet-haired woman asked tiredly. "For what?"

"For allowing me to be a father," he said simply, leaning forward to take her breath away with a kiss that made Akane gurgle.

They both laughed.

"I suppose we should off on that for awhile until Akane-chan is less of a hassle," Kushina laughed, neatly plucking her newborn daughter from her husband's arms to be settled in hers.

"Hello, Akane-chan," she cooed, "I'm your Kaa-chan, I'll keep you sane when your father's around."

Akane gurgled in her arms once more, but her eyes lit up and she was smiling, so Kushina took that to be a good thing.

"Yes, Tou-chan's such a crazy man, yes he is!"

Minato could feel a sweatdrop forming. "Kushina…"

"I am brainwashing her for later, Minato," Kushina said with a wide grin. "This one's going to be just as strong as her Kaa-chan, I can see it, and she's going to be smarter than her Tou-chan."

Minato couldn't help but simply smile as he leaned down to press a kiss to her fuzzy head. "I have no doubt."

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><p>"Did you guys hear the news?" Nohara Rin asked, positively jumping up and down as she nearly collided with her teammates at Training Ground Seven.<p>

"What news?" Uchiha Obito asked, his tone suspicious, and Hatake Kakashi gave a small grunt from where he was sitting on a bench, a small book open on his lap.

"Kushina-san had the baby last night! Minato-sensei is a father!" Rin said, her tone positively bubbly.

"She did?" Obito asked grinning widely. "Is it a girl or a boy?"

"It's a girl." Kakashi looked up from his book in a bored manner. "Her name is Uzumaki Akane. Sensei said we can come see her today at eleven."

"When did he say that?" Rin asked in confusion while Obito scowled at his teammate.

"When I saw him last night walking to their apartment."

Obito frowned thoughtfully. "Shouldn't Kushina-san be recovering in the hospital, though?" But silence was all that he was greeted with and a tick mark quickly appeared over his eye. "Hey! I'm talking to you?"

"Oh, were you?" Kakashi asked, sounding faintly surprised.

Obito growled, taking an aggressive step forward before Rin threw herself between the pair.

"It's no use fighting," she said, stalling them, "come on, let's go see Minato-sensei's daughter, alright?"

The boys huffed but agreed, allowing her to tug them down the road and in the direction of Minato and Kushina's apartment.

Rin debated about ringing the doorbell before opting to a few short knocks. Within seconds they could hear the soft footfalls of someone approaching the door and the next second their Sensei's face had appeared framed in the doorway, a soft smile on his face that widened when he saw who lay beyond.

"Ah, I see Kakashi remembered to tell you two," Minato said with a soft chuckle, opening the door a bit more to allow them inside. "Come on in, Kushina's with Akane-chan in the sitting room."

Rin practically skipped inside, allowing Obito and Kakashi to follow at a more subdued pace.

"Oh, Kushina-san!" was the first thing they heard before they spotted the child. "She's beautiful!"

The small baby garbed in red seemed to melt into the crimson color, as it was both what she was wearing and the color of the hair on top of her head. But her eyes were a bright impossible blue that Kakashi had yet to see on anyone but Minato-sensei.

"I guess her name makes sense," Obito muttered, trying vainly to hide his interest in the newborn as Kushina shifted her grip on the baby to allow Rin to lift her carefully into her arms.

Rin cooed softly, rocking her gently in her arms as Akane babbled strange pitched noises that could be taken as excitement as she raised a chubby hand towards Rin's tattooed cheeks with obvious interest.

"She's kinda…round," Obito said, tilting his head to the side as he observed the pair. "Do all babies look like that?"

"I have no doubt," Minato chuckled as he moved forward to neatly pluck the red-haired girl from Rin's arms to cradle her close to his chest for a moment before turning towards the two males of his squad. "Would you like to hold her?"

Kakashi recoiled suddenly as if in fear of human contact, but in doing so, fat tears began to well in the baby's eyes. Babies weren't well known for their sight, especially not the day after their birth, but Minato was sure that she could tell that he had moved farther away from her.

"You can't make her cry!" Obito hissed, nudging him forward to which he earned a scowl as Kakashi, rather reluctantly, took the baby.

Akane giggled, her stubby fingers reaching up to pat at his face, confused by the mask he was wearing. Irritation flashed in her blue eyes as she attempted to pry it off his face, something she hadn't yet learned, so all she could do was rub at the material.

Kakashi sighed and Kushina didn't bother to hide a snicker as Akane reached up to tug on a bit of his silver fringe.

"Aw!" Kushina said. "I think she likes you!"

And then Akane, with the attention span of a magpie that had caught the eye of something shiny, leaned over to reach her hands towards Obito. Obito's face turned pink at the attention of the day-old baby and then awkward.

"Um…I don't—" He stuttered a little, trying to move away, but Minato kept him from doing so with a wide smile.

"Are you really going to deny my daughter?" he inquired, amusement leaking into his voice. "Go on, just hold her, it's not like she can bite you."

This was true, and Obito consented to take the small baby. She was heavier than she looked and warm to the touch and ever-curious.

Obito winced as she grabbed at his dark hair. "Hey-hey-hey! Ow! Come on, let go!"

Kakashi snorted in a way that could have been taken as slightly condescending, earning him a glare from his male teammate.

Minato chuckled, but Kushina bypassed him completely with a loud laugh.

"Looks like Akane-chan's got a thing for tugging on hair," Kushina said around her laughter, "I'll keep an eye on that."

Still, Obito was grateful when Minato swept his daughter out of Obito's arms to hold her to his chest rocking her back and forth, carefully ignoring her as she tugged on the long spiky locks that framed either side of his face. Akane's eyes brightened at the sight of the yellowish blob that was her father, her lips forming an open-mouthed smile.

She was perfect in Minato's eyes, and that was all that mattered. For that moment, it was almost as if there wasn't a war going on, it was as if his world was just him, Kushina, and the little bundle of red-hair and blue eyes that was his daughter.

But happiness does not always last, and sooner or later Minato knew he would have to leave little Akane in Kushina's capable hands as he was forced to return to the warfront once again.

Minato's eyes met Kushina's deep purple ones and he knew that she was certain of what he was thinking.

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><p>Uzumaki Akane was a quiet baby, and that sometimes worried Kushina immensely as she was the only one in the apartment with her daughter since Minato had been recalled. However, there didn't seem to be anything that was really wrong with her, so it was chalked up to Akane just not feeling the need to cry as much; she only did so to tell her mother when she was hungry or when her nappy needed to be changed. If she was tired, she just fell over and if she was bored, she just reached for the toys that were placed near to her.<p>

"You might turn out to be a genius like your father," Kushina told her grudgingly one night as her daughter kept a tight hold on her pointer fingers, becoming quickly fascinated when she lifted her hands and by extension, Akane's. "That would be just my luck."

Akane smiled disarmingly at her mother. She was at three months of age now and her crimson hair had grown a little from how it was before, but Kushina was sure she would take after Minato more…except for those markings on her cheeks. Three black whisker-like slashes on each cheek that was akin to a fox.

Kushina was sure that it was a side-effect of being born from a Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. She and Minato had thought it was safest to spread around that she had inherited the marks from her father, and that they had simply skipped a generation.

But that wasn't the only thing that worried Kushina, it was who Akane's father was. What if Konoha's enemies discovered he had sired a daughter?

Akane tugged on her finger, bringing her attention back to the present to look into her mother's eyes, her lips turned in confusion.

"I just miss your Tou-chan, Akane-chan," Kushina told her, pulling her up and into her arms. "Don't let Kaa-chan worry you too much."

Akane merely babbled, nodding her head in a gesture that showed just how almost asleep she was.

"Ah, c'mere sweet baby," Kushina whispered, peppering her daughters cheeks with butterfly kisses that made her smile. "Maybe when you wake up tomorrow Tou-chan will be back with us…won't that be lovely?"

But Akane only seemed to understand one word of that, and it wasn't by much. 'Tou-chan' was a word that Kushina often said when she spoke to her daughter, so on a certain level she must have recognized that the word was important, but Kushina doubted the red-haired baby associated it with the blonde-haired, blue-eyes man that preferred to never be far from her Uzumaki mother.

Akane leaned her small head on her mother's shoulder as the woman lifted her up and moved in the direction of the room she shared with Minato only now held a small crib. Of course, they had a rather nice apartment that held three bedrooms, a sitting room, and a kitchen, however, due to the paternity of her daughter and due to the fact that Minato was gone and Kushina was off of active duty, she had felt it was safer to have her near her.

It didn't help that Kushina was becoming rather paranoid about little Akane's safety.

"There you go," Kushina murmured, laying her daughter gently down in her crib. "Sleep well, little one."

But Akane did not responded, simply breathing in and out slowly and deeply, and that was enough to reassure Kushina as she left the room to change in nightwear, returning swiftly and turning off the light, plunging the room into darkness.

And Kushina allowed her herself to lay her body to rest, faded entirely from the world of consciousness with the comfort that Akane was safe and asleep.

However, she was quite rudely awakened after what felt like minutes but was probably hours by the fearful cries of her three-month-old baby.

Kushina's eyes flashed open immediately and a righteous anger flooded through her veins at the sight of a darkly garbed shinobi with a Tsuchigakure hitai-ate glinting in the moonlight holding tightly to her little girl as he attempted to make his escape unnoticed.

He clearly hadn't been expecting Akane's powerful lungs as she felt his invasive chakra brush against her skin. Her mother was, after all, from the Uzumaki Clan of Uzushigakure, and as such was a well known sensory-type kunoichi. A talent she had passed on to her daughter.

Kushina's eyes flared. _"Akane!"_

The shinobi leapt out of her window and she quickly gave chase, racing after the man who was kidnapping her child with a vengeance that only a mother seeking to protect her child could possess.

Minato had killed many from Tsuchi, that much Kushina knew, and to have the Kiiroi Senkou's only child behind their walls would be quite a claim, and a weakness to exploit against the man.

"You're not getting away from me!" Kushina roared, the muscles of her back tightening as she pooled her chakra. The **Kongou Fuusa (Adamantine Sealing Chains)** required no hand signs, only chakra and the blood of the Uzumaki.

She gave a loud cry that alerted the shinobi guarding the gate (if her yells from before hadn't done so already), and the chains from within her, shooting out and completely encasing the would-be-kidnapper in chakra-glowing chains.

As a result, he dropped her still-wailing child, but Kushina was fast, nowhere near as fast as Minato, but fast enough to snatch her daughter out of the air and punch the shinobi in the face with so much force that she doubted he would ever look the same.

"Kushina-san? Are you alright?"

Kushina canceled her jutsu, allowing the guards to restrain the man adequately, taking him away for questioning while she blinked, realizing one of the guards was talking to her.

"I'm fine," she choked out finally, smoothing a hand over her daughters head, feeling the small body trembling in her arms. She wanted to race after him and beat him senseless for the terror he had caused her infant daughter; she was a baby! She should be blissfully ignorant of the world! But here she was, in danger of being kidnapped.

"Its alright, Akane-chan," she murmured to her daughter, moving slowly back in the direction of her apartment. "Kaa-chan's here, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you, I promise."

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><p>Minato was more than glad to be back in-village after that lengthy mission. Obito and Kakashi were still clashing, as usual, and it seemed to get worse with each passing day, at least Rin was acting like so sort of bridge between the two. But Minato really didn't know how to get through to either of them, they worked together, sure, but barely, and it was clear that they collided often with differing opinions.<p>

"Your mission was a success, I take it?" one of the guards asked Minato as he and his team signed in. Minato nodded almost absently. "You missed all the excitement by a few days."

"Excitement?" Minato said suddenly, the word catching his interest. He fastened his eyes on the man in question –he was older with graying hair secured in a knot at the nape of his neck and with brown eyes that looked too young for the rest of his body. "What do you mean?"

"A shinobi from Tsuchi snuck into the village in the dead of night," the man informed him a bit grimly.

That was a worry. For an enemy shinobi to penetrate into the village was something to be very worried about. What if there had been an attempt to assassinate the Hokage while he slept? What if medicines were switched out for clever poisons? What if—

"He tried to make off with your little girl, Minato-san."

An icy fist gripped Minato's heart at the very thought of an enemy shinobi sneaking past Kushina to steal away Akane.

"What?" he demanded, stunned to his core. "He tried to take Akane?"

The man nodded in agreement and Minato's students exchanged glances of worry (because for all the problems the team had, there was one thing they could agree on; a month-old infant didn't deserve to be kidnapped). "Didn't get very far, though, before Kushina-san stepped in. Took him out in a matter of seconds…I think she might have permanently disfigured him, though, with how much power she put behind that punch of hers."

Minato wanted dearly to say "Good," But that would have hardly been like him at all. He nodded to the man in thanks before beckoning his students forward and towards the village.

"Um…Minato-sensei?" Minato turned back to survey the Uchiha under him. Obito looked distinctly awkward and uncomfortable. "We can give the mission report, you know, you should go see you daughter."

"Yeah, you go on, Sensei," Rin agreed with a kind smile, "we'll be fine."

Kakashi made a small noise that rather sounded like he concurred with the consensus of the group, another rarity.

And Minato was grateful as he left in a flash of yellow, reappearing on the doorstep of his apartment, his heart hammering in his chest as he pulled out his keys and twisted the door open.

Kushina did not greet him, and it seemed rather as though she did not notice him at all, too much engrossed with the baby book that she was reading aloud to their daughter ("You know she's not going to understand that yet, right?" "It's the principal of the matter-ttbane!"), and for a moment, Minato allowed him to observe the pair silently.

Akane was sprawled across her mother's lap, her cheeks were a little puffed with air as her eyes flowed over the words, no doubt trying to make sense of the nonsense of the black kanji that were painted across the pages (Minato had no doubt that no matter how hard the girl stared at the page, she wouldn't be able to understand it for quite some time). And then her eyes, growing bored, looked up and delight spread across her face.

Kushina was quick to see her daughter's waning interest and she looked up as well, relief morphing onto her face. "Minato," she breathed out his name, "you're back."

"Yes," Minato said, striding towards the two red-haired females, lifting Akane out of her mother's arms as she so clearly wanted him to do, before dropping to sit beside his wife, pulling her against him. "I heard there was some trouble."

Kushina nestled against his side, sighing softly as her fingers reached up to curl into his spiky locks. "I dealt with it," she said with finality, "but you may need to update those seals on the windows…they seem to be faulty."

Minato gave a small murmur of agreement, cupping Akane's cheek in his hand as her own hands reached up to wind into one of the spiky locks that framed his face not for the first time since she had been born. Minato was rather thinking his hair was his daughter's favorite toy.

"I'm sorry I was gone so long," he murmured to Kushina, pressing a kiss to her temple. "The mission proved more difficult than I anticipated."

"Its fine," she responded just as quietly, "as long as you come back to me."

"Always," he responded easily. "I love you."

Even though he had said those three words to her at least a hundred times, Kushina could not stop the heat from rising in her face. "I know that-ttebane!" she spluttered, her face almost as red as her hair and embarrassment clear in how she tried to hide her face, but it was all in vain.

"Should I tease your Kaa-chan?" Minato asked Akane with a wide grin, but all Akane did was blink innocently up at him.

"She says you shouldn't."

"Nah, she likes it when Tou-chan teases Kaa-chan," Minato said, his grin widening further as he murmured those three words to his love over and over again.

"S-Stop it-ttebane!" she said heatedly, her face even brighter than before.

"Is there something wrong with telling my wife that I love her?" Minato responded, catching her chin in his hand before pulling her lips to his and sealing them with a kiss.

It had been so long since Kushina had last kissed Minato, but her eyes still fluttered shut and she still melted into him like it was the first time they had kissed (a memory Kushina could still recall clearly in her mind).

Akane gurgled happily in Minato's arms, forcing the pair to part to look at her.

Her blue eyes were twinkling and an open-mouthed smile was obvious on her lips.

"Aw, did you want Kaa-chan and Tou-chan to kiss?" Kushina cooed, removing her daughter from her husband's arms to take her in her own once more. "Do you like it when Kaa-chan and Tou-chan are together?"

The noise she made was one of happiness, and Minato found that he wouldn't trade anything in the world for the life he had right now with the woman he loved and the daughter they had created together.

For this moment, this single moment, he was happier than he'd been in months, happier to be back in the company of his wife and child once more.

**AN: So, that's chapter one done, tell me what you think! Like I said…I don't really know babies, so I'm just kind of BSing my way through Akane's development…but oh well, let me know if you like it! As always!**

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**


	2. New Meetings

**Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto**

**Through Fire and Wind: Chapter Two: New Meetings**

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><p>When Jiraiya got wind that Minato had a kid, he was hightailing back to the village intent on meeting his godchild who he had unwittingly slighted by not being present during her first six months of life. It would take more than the birth of a child to bring Tsunade back to Konoha, but Jiraiya did not have such problems.<p>

He loved his home and he missed his students. Yoshino was probably still being chased by the newly named Nara Head (it was a great loss to lose Nara Shikato to the battlefront, but his son had stepped quite easily into his shoes as chief strategist), Hizashi was probably being kept close to Konoha so as to keep the Byakugan safe (the last time they had spoken Hizashi was quite annoyed with his…detainment), and Minato had married that spitfire Uzumaki girl that he'd been chasing since the academy who had given birth six months previously.

Since the war was still going on, communications that weren't of high importance tended to be pushed back, hence why Jiraiya was six months late to seeing his goddaughter's birth.

"Eh? Sensei?"

Jiraiya stiffened his back immediately at the sound of his only female student. "Ah, Yoshino-chan!"

Yoshino scowled at him, her dark eyes flashing and her dark ponytail hiked high up on her head as was the Nara tradition. "Don't call me 'Yoshino-chan,' you buffoon!"

In retrospect, Jiraiya really should have seen the punch coming, being on a team with the ever-aggressive Senju Tsunade, but maybe he was just a sucker for punishment, and the hit collided painfully with his cheek, knocking him off his feet and startling a few passers-by.

"You're the worst sensei ever!" she growled, wrenching him upright with a glare that made Jiraiya pity the Nara that had fallen for her. "You hightail back here only after you realize that Minato's daughter was born! And you're six months too late!"

Jiraiya grinned. "I know you only yell at me because you were worried about me, Yoshino-chan, you can drop the act."

"Fat chance of that," she said with a scowl, gripping his ear tightly. "Come on, we're going to see Akane-chan, and if you don't fall in love with her immediately, I'm kicking your ass."

"Ow-ow-ow!" Jiraiya complained as he was jerked away.

"Let's go, Ero-sensei!"

"Who're you calling—_OW!"_

Yoshino pulled him along towards a modest set of apartments, yanking him up the stairs until he was standing before the Namikaze-Uzumaki Residence, and then she left him there, leaving him to knock on his own.

The door was opened to reveal a pair of surprised blue eyes.

"Sensei?" Minato said, stunned by his old teacher's reappearance. "You're back?"

Jiraiya had been working extensively on the spy network for the past few months, nearly a year in fact, long enough to have been away only after Kushina discovered that she was pregnant, but had been too busy by the orders of the Sandaime to return.

"Only for a short time," Jiraiya admitted, glancing around him for the tell-tale sign of red hair that his young and vivacious wife bore. "So, where's my little goddaughter?" The idea of him being a godfather to anyone was still highly ludicrous to him, he just wasn't godfather material.

Hell, he spent more time peeping in bathhouses than he did acting responsibly.

"Kushina's got her," Minato said, allowing him inside and shutting the door behind him swiftly. Jiraiya noticed a small shift caused by a seal and he arched an eyebrow at his former student.

"A bit overprotective?" he asked mildly.

"Hardly," Minato muttered, "there was a kidnap attempt three months ago…they nearly got Akane-chan out of the front gates…I just want to protect my daughter."

Jiraiya's eyes darkened to be replaced with a more serious expression. "Who was the mastermind behind the abduction?"

"It was not the Tsuchikage, oddly enough," Minato sighed, "though I wouldn't blame him for wanting my head; I've taken the lives of countless men of his village. This was concocted by a mad-driven shinobi whose brother I killed in battle…war breeds so much hate, Sensei, and I don't want my daughter to get caught up in it."

Jiraiya clasped his shoulder tightly. "She won't, I promise you. If she's got you for a father then she's already got a great head on her shoulders."

Minato cracked a smile. "Thanks, Sensei…come on, this way."

He led him into the apartment, only pausing briefly as Jiraiya removed his geta sandals, and Jiraiya had to admit that Akane wasn't quite what he was expecting.

Foolishly, he had thought the girl would take completely after her father with blonde hair and blue eyes, but while she had inherited his eyes, her hair was as her name eluded, a bright and brilliant red.

She was giggling at her mother as she made funny faces at her before Kushina turned to see Jiraiya and she grinned widely. "Jiraiya-sama! Finally showed up, did you?" Just a slight amount of irritation was evident in her voice and Jiraiya was instantly sheepish; there really wasn't a point in denying he was late, maybe he'd get off with just a few punches to the ribs and face and a kick to his nether regions (if he was lucky, which was doubtful).

"Akane-chan," Kushina sang her daughter's name, lifting her up and into her arms, making the small infant smile at her, "do you want to meet your godfather?"

Akane didn't really seem to understand, her eyes focusing on Minato instead. "T-ou-ch-an," she said, reaching for him. "T-ou-ch-an!"

Minato positively beamed as he swept his daughter up and into his arms, making her giggle once more and Kushina tried her hardest not to roll her eyes, but really, her husband was stealing all her thunder.

"Ooh!" Akane said, finally taking notice of Jiraiya and pulling firmly on one of his loose hanging locks of spiky pure white.

"Ow!" Jiraiya complained. "Kushina-chan, I think she's got your grip!"

"Damn straight!" Kushina agreed with an almost feral grin. "She's going to be something when she's grown, I'll tell you that!"

And for once, Jiraiya didn't disagree.

* * *

><p>Akane was eighteen months old when she made a lifelong friend, of course, she wouldn't realize until much later.<p>

Minato and his team had been called away again and Kushina was beginning to get very annoyed with the life she had told herself as a child that she would never have; the one where she stayed at home to mind the children.

Of course, that wasn't to mean that she didn't love Minato or Akane, because she did with every fiber of her being, and she was devoted to the both of them, but Kushina was not made to remain inside of the walls of Konoha. She was a kunoichi who belonged on the front lines with her husband, but after the nearly successful kidnapping of Akane fifteen months previously, the Sandaime had been adamant of her protecting the Kiiroi Senkou's only legacy.

Rumors about Akane had been circling through the shinobi villages, and Kushina had to thwart one more kidnapping attempt as well as one of murderous intent from Kiri and Kumo respectively. Protecting Akane was turning into a full-time job.

"Ka-a-chan," Akane said, directing her attention to her frowning daughter, confusion evident in her eyes.

"It's alright, Akane-chan," Kushina promised, bumping her nose gently with her daughter's. "We're just going to visit a friend of mine, she has a son about your age."

Akane scowled in a thoughtful way, her face screwed up with concentration, or as much concentration as an eighteen-month-old could muster.

"Kushina!" an excited voice sang as the red-haired woman was allowed past the gate of the Uchiha Compound and Kushina looked up, a beaming smile taking up residence on her face. "Mikoto!" she cried in excitement, having hardly seen the woman since the births of their children who had undoubtedly monopolized their time. Well…at least Kushina knew her daughter had, she couldn't be certain if it was the same for Mikoto.

Uchiha Mikoto was a beautiful young woman with dark hair and eyes, something that a large number of the Uchiha seemed to share. Many of the clan, much like the Hyuuga in that respect, chose not to associate with those outside of it, even if they were their teammates. It was a flawed system, Kushina thought, that served only to isolate them further inside the village.

But Mikoto was different. She was kind and sweet and strong, willing to go toe-to-toe with her parents when she had announced that she was bringing her best friend, Uzumaki Kushina home with her for lunch and training and that they better not say anything demeaning about her or her birthright; she had had quite an impressive glare for a ten year old.

"Oh, she's a gem!" Mikoto gushed, leaning in close to see the small child that Kushina had resting on her hip. Akane blinked owlishly at the dark-haired woman, fascinated by the color of her hair (this was probably why she delighted so much in tugging on other's locks of hair). "She looks so much like her mum!"

"Oh, she's more like Minato, trust me," Kushina responded with a light laugh, "and she's very quiet."

"Then she'll get along great with Itachi-chan," Mikoto said with a beaming grin, running a single finger through the girl's bright hair. "He's not much of a talker either."

"Well, at least I'm not the only one," Kushina said with a sigh of relief. "I talked to a few mothers and they thought there might be something wrong with her…"

Mikoto's insulted look mirrored the one she had worn when the idea had been suggested. "Was it that civilian dropout that chased after Minato in the academy?" Mikoto demanded in a tone that said she knew it just had to be.

"Unsurprisingly, yes," Kushina agreed, wrinkling her nose in disdain, an expression her daughter quickly replicated, giggling halfway through.

Mikoto scoffed. "Of course it was her…don't worry, there's nothing wrong with a quiet baby, it just means you'll get to sleep more, hm?"

"Well, you're not wrong," Kushina agreed with a laugh as they began to move through the compound towards Mikoto's house. "Did you leave your son alone?" she asked in surprise.

Since the previous kidnapping attempts, Kushina worried about leaving her precious girl alone.

Mikoto laughed and Kushina caught a glimpse of her black eyes filtering suddenly as red as blood with black tomoe circling the iris. "Don't worry," she said smugly, "I can see him quite well from here." Itachi, after all, had a very specific chakra signature, even at his age.

"I-ta-chi," Akane said suddenly, sounding out the name like all children did. "It-achi."

"That's right, Akane-chan!" Kushina said, kissing her daughter's forehead. "He's as old as you…maybe you'll make a friend, hm?"

Akane smiled as her mother removed her sandals with a bit of difficulty as she still held Akane, but eventually she entered into the main room to see a child about Akane's size and weight held in her friend's arms.

Uchiha Itachi seemed to have inherited more from his slight mother than he had from his strong-jawed father. This, Kushina thought, was a very good thing. The child's eyes and hair was just as dark as either of his parents, so it was impossible to tell who had inherited them more from, however, in addition he had rather defined tear-troughs much like Akane's whisker marks.

"It-achi!" Akane cried, poking his forehead softly with one finger.

Itachi looked up at her finger, going slightly cross-eyed that Mikoto and Kushina had to laugh, sharing a glance that said they knew what the other was thinking.

Wouldn't it be something if…

A small smile spread across Itachi's face and he reached out his own finger to poke her forehead in the same manner that she had done so only moments previously.

Akane giggled.

* * *

><p>Three months later Minato returned once more and Akane was the first to greet him, walking right up to the weary man with a beaming smile, determined to brighten his day.<p>

"Tou-chan!" she called brightly, her tiny fists bunching into the fabric of his pants. "You back!"

"I'm back," Minato agreed, sweeping her up and into his arms. "Have you been a good girl for Kaa-chan?"

Akane pressed a sweet kiss to her father's cheek. "Yes," the red-head said stoutly before becoming distracted by the sight of the masked silver-haired Chuunin beside her father. "Kakashi-nii!"

Kakashi was vaguely startled with the address of "nii" because he had never heard Akane refer to him (or anyone) as such, though Akane was a rather quiet child, so it was hardly surprising.

"Why does she like you so much?" Obito demanded with an irritated frown.

"Its probably because of the color of his hair, Obito-kun," a voice commented wryly as Kushina came into view, smiling widely as she finally caught up with her spirited daughter. "She's seen nothing but black for days."

"Itachi hair," Akane agreed with a rather serious nod. "Pretty color."

"Just Itachi's?" Kushina asked in a joking manner and Akane grinned toothily that told her the answer.

"And who is Itachi?" Minato asked mildly, reasserting his grip on his young daughter, jostling her just slightly as she kept a thin arm locked around his shoulder.

"My friend," Akane said beaming. "He nice." She frowned for a second, searching for another word in her growing internal dictionary. "Quiet."

"Oh?" Minato asked with a grin, pleased by how well she was speaking when the instances had been so rare and far between the last time he had seen her. She had grown as well. Her bright hair hung loose past her shoulders and her eyes were sharper, but her face was just as round as it had been, proof that she was still a child, and though Minato had missed much, he still had much to make up for his absence. "A boy?"

Kushina crossed her arms, tilting her head and arching an eyebrow at her husband that had Rin breaking down into giggles. "Yes, Minato, a _boy_, Mikoto's boy, to be precise…you haven't got a problem with that, Min-a-to-kun?" Her eyes were narrowed and sharp.

Obito didn't bother hiding his snorts of laughter as Minato spluttered, trying to force out a few words that would help him save face, but he couldn't quite seem to go against his fearsome wife.

Minato released Akane so that she could sit on Kakashi's shoulders, fisting his pale hair in her hands. To his credit, Kakashi, for all his complaints about following the Shinobi Rules and protocol, did not even grimace. Minato go so far as to say that his most rigid students was getting soft, and all he had to blame for that was his bright-eyed little girl who had charmed him from the moment he had first laid eyes on her.

"Go walk?" Akane asked him as she leaned her head down to look into his dark eyes as he locked his hands around her shins to keep her from falling off.

"Sure," Kakashi said, his voice not holding even a smidge of resignation as he began to walk away, leaving his teammates behind to watch Minato recoiling as Kushina berated him about having no right to judge Itachi because he was a boy and Akane was a girl, sometimes friends are just friends.

Somehow, Kakashi thought Kushina would be quite pleased if when they were older Akane and Itachi fell in love, because what woman didn't want her daughter to love her friend's son?

"My eternal rival!" a sudden voice cried and Akane blinked as a mesh of green and black overtook her vision.

"Gai," Kakashi said with a forlorn sigh, resisting the urge to Shunshin away. Maito Gai had a problem with challenging him to duels that he never seemed to win, and he just never gave up.

"I challenge you—_Ooh!"_ The spandex-clad Chuunin was suddenly distracted by the almost two year old perched on Kakashi's shoulders as though there was nothing more natural in the world. "Is this Minato-san's little girl?"

"Me, Akane," the girl offered helpfully.

"And we're going," Kakashi added, removing Akane from his head so that she was nestled into his arms securely so as not to be dislodged during his Shunshin, which this time he did perform only to reappear on a deserted street.

They walked in silence, one that was quite comfortable.

"Go?" Akane asked finally, patting his masked cheek with her hand, confusion in her eyes.

"Somewhere special," Kakashi told her as they rounded another corner before entering into one of the training grounds, the one he and his team typically met at, the one that held the memorial stone into which the names of the heroes who died in battle were carved.

Kakashi let her down and she immediately took his hand as they approached and she mimicked him as he bowed to pay his respects.

His father's name was on this stone, even though the manner of his death was not one taken by heroes, and it stung him to think about his father, to remember walking into the pool of blood and being too in shock to realize that Hatake Sakumo was gone from the world.

"Nii-chan sad?"

Kakashi jerked in surprise, almost forgetting of Akane's presence, and suddenly tears welled in her eyes and he had a mental freak out. _Crap! He'd made his sensei's kid cry! Minato-sensei was so going to **kill** him!_

"Nii-chan sad, then me sad!" Akane proclaimed loudly and stoutly as the tears rolled down her face.

"No, no, that's fine, nii-chan isn't sad anymore, see?" Kakashi asked almost feverishly, quickly smudging the wet trails on her cheeks and glancing around to make sure Minato hadn't seen. "I just wanted to show you this rock, its very important."

"Im-po-rt-ant?" Akane asked, sounding the word out carefully, with a look of confusion that clearly said that she didn't quite understand the word.

"It means…its…special," Kakashi said, struggling internally for a moment. "Do you know why?"

Akane shook her head, scrubbing at the remnants of her tears until her cheeks were bright red from the friction.

"Sometimes…people have to go away and never come back," he said, not quite knowing how to describe death to an almost two year old, "and if they leave because of battle…their names are carved here."

Akane stared at the many names. "Tou-chan? Kaa-chan?" she asked.

Kakashi shook his head. "Not yet…these people are a little different from your Tou-chan and Kaa-chan…and this is my father's name." He took her finger and traced it over the name Hatake Sakumo.

She tapped her finger against the characters and looked at him with serious eyes. "He proud."

And Kakashi had to wonder just how much Akane understood about the world…and he hoped dearly that she was right, that his father would have been proud of him.

* * *

><p>Akane was flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling before glancing across the floor of the room to where a few fake kunai and shuriken had been dropped haphazardly. When she and Itachi hung out at the Uchiha Compound, they would hide in a place that Itachi called the 'Blind Spot' because the adults couldn't see what they were doing with their Sharingan, and he had hidden a few real kunai and shuriken out there so they could practice without their parents (or Mikoto really, because she had far better eyes than Akane's Kaa-chan).<p>

Itachi was better at than she was, but he was always there to correct her grip or stance from how he had seen the other Uchiha perform similar exercises. To be so young yet still understand grips and stances…already the Uchiha and Uzumaki were shaping up to be the pride of their fathers, but neither of their mothers wanted to broach the subject for their supposed genius status until they were completely certain.

However, Kushina couldn't deny how Akane was picking up sealing books from her father's study and tracing over the seals with her fingers, probably not understanding them, but being fascinated all the same.

But right now Akane missed her Tou-chan more than ever, but he was needed out on the frontlines, even while she was locked away in the village. The war was dragging on and even her mother had been forced out of the village and into battle (he had been gone so much longer than Kaa-chan, so she missed him more), leaving her three-year-old daughter in the capable hands of her friend Mikoto who had been more than happy to babysit the little red-haired girl, despite having a son the same age to constantly worry over. However, Mikoto had a love for children, and was all too willing to agree to look after the willful red-head who was proving herself to be prone to vanishing acts.

Akane and Itachi had certain similarities that helped them get along well. One was their quiet natures, and another was their heightened intellect. It hadn't taken long for Mikoto to see that her son was a budding genius, and the possibility that Akane was similarly minded wasn't too surprising, given her father.

"Itachi?" His name rolled off her tongue softly as they lay in bed, side by side. The first time they had met in the Uchiha Compound had resulted in cementing a bond between the two children when the Akane had somehow managed to make him smile.

"Mm?" Itachi turned his head towards her and Akane could make out the pronounced tear-troughs under his eyes that were as obvious as the whisker marks on her own cheeks.

"Do you think Kaa-chan and Tou-chan will come back?" she whispered, her fears threatening to strangle her if she did not know what he thought.

For a long moment the Uchiha heir did not speak and Akane felt quite like she was drowning.

"Yes," he said with finality and surety, "You worry too much."

Akane's eyes shifted away and Itachi didn't have to look at her to see that she only half-believed him, but she opted to change the subject instead. "'Koto-san asked me how I would feel if Tou-chan was Hokage today."

"Really?" She could see his eyes widening even in the darkness. "Minato-san must be very strong."

Akane scowled at her best friend. "Tou-chan's the strongest!"

Itachi shrugged his shoulders at her and the scowl darkened to a glare. "Itachi…"

"What?"

"What if they don't come back?" Akane demanded, prodding on his arm.

He tapped her forehead softly and Akane reeled back a little, surprised by the touch; Itachi wasn't really someone who was touchy-feely. And then all Akane could hear was silence.

"They will," he said. "We can wait for them tomorrow…go to sleep." The last three words were muttered fuzzily into his pillow as he turned away from her and Akane couldn't resist a few giggles that managed to make it past the barrier of her lips before she closed her eyes.

But the next day brought both the good with the bad.

Tou-chan did indeed return, but Kaa-chan did not, still off battling Kiri, but that was not all the bad news.

Kakashi-nii came back with his hitai-ate slanted over one eye and Rin's eyes were red from continuous crying.

"Where's Obito-nii?" The question burst from Akane's lips before she could stop it, having the mouth of a three year old with little restraint.

Kakashi flinched and Rin's eyes welled with tears as her father knelt down in front of her.

"Akane-chan," he said, his voice heavy, weighed down with emotion, "Obito-nii is dead."

Now, Akane didn't quite understand what 'dead' meant, she was still innocent in a sense, but she was smart enough to tell that 'dead' meant she wasn't going to see Obito-nii again.

Tears ran like rain down her cheeks.

**AN: I'm guessing you lot are liking this story so far, and, like I said, I'm consulting online sources on the development of babies, and if Akane and Itachi seem slightly advanced for their age, I'm chalking that up to them being geniuses. Sloppy, I know, but what can you do?**

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEWS ARE LOOOVVEEE!**


	3. Black and Blue

**Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto**

**Through Fire and Wind: Chapter Three: Black and Blue**

**AN: Thank you to all of you that reviewed, I really love how taken you all are with this idea! I'm not sure when I'll update again, but the next fic on my agenda is Strongest of the Warlocks, and if you follow that, get ready!**

* * *

><p>Kakashi was breathing hard, sweat curling in the few strands of his wild hair that stuck to his face. He sat up quickly, feeling the bile deep in his throat but quickly forcing it down as he strode over to the kitchen sink to scrub vigorously at his hand—<p>

—_the crackle of electricity and lightning was almost all he could hear as looked at the person he had impaled with a stunned expression. All Rin could say as blood poured from her chest and mouth was "Ka…ka…shi…"—_

His heart was racing in his chest as he scrubbed harder at the blood stains only he could see, his vision blurry from the tears that clung desperately to his eyes.

"It won't wash off!" he said, his voice hoarse with sleep. "It won't wash off!"

But he was startled out of his fear by a sudden polite knock on his door that had him quickly flinging water in his face and wiping it so as to make the tears and sweat less obvious before turning off the water and opening the door.

He had to look down to see his visitors and he was met with a pair of blue and black eyes, each staring at him resolutely.

It came as no surprise to Kakashi that Akane was in the presence of Uchiha Itachi, the two seemed to be always in each other's company when they weren't with their parents.

"Kakashi-nii, get dressed!" Akane said, her face completely seriously, looking every bit her father's daughter. "We're going to visit Obito-nii and Rin-nee."

His heart throbbed in his chest. This was the worst possible time…

Kakashi gave a mournful sigh, raising a hand to rub at his tired eyes. "Akane-chan…"

Itachi gave him a dry stare as Akane's eyes sharpened. Clearly the Uchiha heir knew Akane better than he did and was obviously telling him "Don't argue with her."

"Are you questioning me?" Akane demanded, using the same phrase her mother had used on her father one time or another. It had been quite humorous to watch her father fold like wet paper.

Kakashi flinched backwards slightly. This was a child who had Uzumaki Kushina as a mother, he really shouldn't have been surprised. The red-head had inherited much of her mother's stubbornness, despite her young age.

"Let me get changed," Kakashi said finally and both children nodded (he had long since noticed how little Itachi spoke).

"What if he takes the window exit?" Itachi asked Akane as Kakashi disappeared inside.

"He won't," Akane said with surety. "Nii-chan is lonely, so he'll come." Akane expelled a low sigh, her shoulders sagging slightly as she did so.

Itachi frowned slightly at her.

"What?"

He quickly averted his eyes. "Nothing." Akane seemed so…downtrodden after she received word that Nohara Rin had fallen in battle. Two of her 'siblings' were dead, now all she had was Kakashi. And Kakashi seemed even worse than her.

"You didn't have to come," Akane mentioned mildly, shoving her hands in the pockets of her shorts.

Itachi blinked. "Do you want me to leave?"

"What? No!" Akane's bright eyes became slightly wild as she vehemently disagreed. "It's just…you seem bored."

Itachi held her gaze for a long time. "Your brother is taking a long time."

Akane burst into giggles at the bluntness of her friend's words. "That's all?"

"Yes."

Akane had to bend over to stifle her amusement that would have no doubt come out in loud echoing laughs, if she hadn't clamped her hands tightly over her mouth to silence it, but then the smile slipped from her face as she caught the look in his eye.

"Did your Tou-san get sent out to war?" Akane asked with understanding shining in her eyes. She knew all too well how it felt to have one or both of your parents out to the front lines. She didn't like it much, but she understood that her parents weren't always going to be around for her; she just had to make do with their substitutes for now.

"Not for long," Itachi said, tilting his head back to look skyward. The sky was a clear and bright blue, the clouds moving lazily across the horizon as birds chirped giving off a peaceful air. His dark eyes shifted to his friend who was gazing at him a bit curiously.

"Think the war'll be over soon?" she asked, arching a crimson eyebrow.

"Maybe," Itachi said in an evasive manner than annoyed many but only made Akane smile slightly.

When more adults were around, there wasn't as much freedom, but that was hardly surprising. Itachi was the heir to the Uchiha Clan, and Akane was the daughter of two clans, the Namikaze and the Uzumaki, being one of the last of either. Heirs were among the most guarded children in the village, rating very high in importance.

But Akane, while an heir, was very different from Itachi. One reason was that she was the daughter of the one who would soon be named the Yondaime Hokage, and another was that her chakra was unique, the same chakra that had once nearly resulted in her mother's kidnapping by Kumo when she was a child.

Kakashi finally exited his home, freshly changed with his hitai-ate slanted over the eye that now bore the Sharingan (something that Itachi did not comment on). "Alright, then," he said, his tone low and exhausted (this was another thing the pair opted not to notice) as he bent forward slightly to grasp Akane's small hand with his own and offering one to the Uchiha.

For a moment the two seemed to have an intense stare down, and then Itachi conceded, allowing the older boy to take his hand.

Akane dragged the other two forward with purpose.

"Come on, Nii-chan!" she complained. "You're so slow!"

Akane's antics were something Kakashi could never find himself getting used to, but he still allowed her to take him away from his home where he was haunted by the memories of those that had died before him, whether by his hand or not. And he was grateful.

* * *

><p>The dango shop was a common meeting place for the young Chuunin of Konoha, and today was no different.<p>

The current clientele consisted of Yuuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma, Namiashi Raidou, and Shiranui Genma, while Maito Gai leaned against the outer wall, who were enjoying some free time for what felt like the first time in ages.

Raidou swallowed his dango thickly before turning towards his friend who was whittling his dango stick against his teeth with disinterest. "I hear they're going to enter into a peace treaty with Tsuchigakure," he mentioned.

Genma gave a mournful sigh at the thought, gazing out in front of him with a rather bleak expression. "How much faith can we put in a single piece of paper?"

"That's for sure," Gai said from around his dumplings.

"You guys aren't thinking about the burden on Sandaime-sama!" Raidou disagreed, though the Hokage's son, Asuma didn't seem too concerned if the matter, he was all too familiar with his father's burdens.

"In any case," Asuma said, raising his dango stick in almost a toast of celebration, "the long, great war will be over soon."

"Let's toast with some dumplings!" Kurenai agreed, smiling brightly as she raised her stick as well.

Genma made a noise of annoyance in the back of his throat. It seemed foolish to him to celebrate before anything had been decided; that was how nations fell. But who was he to judge? Hope seemed almost forsaken until the last few months, and who was he to take that away from them?

He glanced to his left and blinked. "Hey…isn't that Kakashi?"

It was indeed the silver-haired Jounin, walking about for what seemed to be the first time in weeks.

"He won't want to talk to us," Raidou muttered somberly and a dark cloud settled over the group at the words. "Especially after all that's happened."

Kurenai's eyes softened and saddened. "You're talking about Rin and Obito," she said quietly.

"Yeah," Asuma had to agree, "that would definitely leave a hole in your chest." Kurenai glared at him briefly at his poor choice of words; Rin had been gored through the chest, an injury that resulted in her death. The rumor was that she had been under Genjutsu and had rushed to collide with Kakashi's Chidori. It didn't come as a surprise to anyone that he was being unusually silent about the matter, no doubt he suffered from nightmares from the time in question.

Raidou peered around. "He's got two kids with him," he noticed in a bit of surprise. Kakashi was quite well known for being unsociable, so this came as a bit of a surprise.

"Really?" Several pairs of eyes fastened on the trio approaching.

On his left was a bright-eyed red-haired child that could have only been the daughter of Uzumaki Kushina –no one else in the village had that color of hair– who was swinging one of Kakashi's arms in a wide arc.

"Oh, she's _adorable_!" Kurenai couldn't help but coo. "I wonder what her name is?"

"It's Uzumaki Akane, I'm pretty sure," Gai said, stroking his chin. He hadn't spoken to the daughter of Namikaze Minato since that time he had crossed paths with her and Kakashi, but she had grown since then. Back then her words seemed rather singular, but now she could form complete sentences without much trouble.

"How do you know her name?" Asuma asked suspiciously.

"He probably ran into her when she was with Kakashi and tried to challenge him to a fight," Raidou said, a bit unconcerned. He'd only seen a few glimpses of the young daughter of the Kiiroi Senkou, but that red hair was unmistakable, and he knew he had once seen Kakashi carrying her.

"There is nothing wrong with a youthful fight!" Gai proclaimed loudly.

"Genma," Kakashi said, coming to a stop before the dango shop, the boy's name sounding more like a sigh, "do me a favor and watch these two for a minute?"

It was then that the group caught sight of the second child. This one was a boy with dark hair and eyes with a shirt bearing the uchiwa of the Uchiha Clan that left no question to his heritage.

"Uh…sure," Genma said (later he would realize that Kakashi only entrusted the pair to him because out of all the Chuunin there, he was the one that was most trustworthy), glancing over the two children that Kakashi had nudged in his direction. "But why?"

"I just need to check something out, it'll only be a moment," Kakashi said, his voice sounding as exhausted as he looked. Genma had to wonder when was the last time that he got a decent night's rest.

Akane tilted her head back to look at him, her eyes sharp as he ruffled her hair affectionately before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The dark-haired boy blinked a few times before turning his eyes towards Akane who gave a small shrug. The nonverbal communication between the two was actually quite impressive given how young they were.

Genma knelt down to their level and black and blue orbs fastened on him.

"Hi," he said rather simply, "I'm Shiranui Genma, I did a few missions with Kakashi."

Two heads bobbed in understanding.

Akane gestured to herself. "Akane." Then she pointed to her friend. "And that's Itachi."

"Hello," Itachi said quietly, his eyes surprisingly shrewd for a child his age.

"I think you've met Maito Gai," Genma said, nodding towards the green-clad youth who was chewing on the last of his dango before throwing a bright grin towards the children. Akane had to blink a few times at how bright his smile was. "And these are Namiashi Raidou—" The brunette inclined his head slightly. "—Sarutobi Asuma—" Asuma wriggled a few fingers in their direction. "—and Yuuhi Kurenai." The dark-haired girl smiled kindly.

"Hello," the pair said in unison, but little more could be said as Kakashi returned nearly as swiftly as he had left.

"Thanks," he said before taking each of their hands and striding past his age group with purpose.

* * *

><p>Akane was more like Minato than he wanted to admit, and the blonde could see that it slightly aggravated Kushina how their daughter seemed to gravitate more towards him than she did her.<p>

But today her parents were far more concerned than usual with Akane's behavior.

Perhaps it was because she had hardly said a word all morning and was only playing with the food on her plate.

"Akane-chan? Is something wrong, sweetheart?" Kushina asked her daughter who was frowning intently at the chopped fish. "Is it the food?"

"Itachi and I've been learning to use real kunai and shuriken," she blurted out suddenly, making both her parents stare.

"What?" Minato asked in surprise before sighing. "Akane-chan, you know why we don't want you training with real weapons yet."

"I know," Akane sighed, stabbing mutinously at her fish, "but we're really good at it, I promise!"

Kushina's eyes flashed to Minato's, her surprise evident. "You're…really good at it?" she repeated a bit dubiously.

Akane nodded seriously, though the bright grin on her face ruined the effect.

Minato held his daughter's gaze for the longest time, and Kushina had to marvel at how their daughter stared unblinkingly back at her father.

"Akane-chan," Minato said her name slowly, "is there anything you'd like to show your mother and I?"

Akane's eyes glinted like sapphires. "Maybe."

Kushina shook her head with a sigh before jabbing her chopsticks in the direction of her husband. "This is your fault," she proclaimed, her tone just slightly dramatic that it earned a small giggle from Akane. "She just had to be a genius just like you, didn't she? Akane-chan, don't you want to be normal like your Kaa-chan?" She was beseeching her child now.

Akane blinked owlishly at her mother as her father cowered slightly away from his fiery wife. "You're not normal, Kaa-chan," she promised in what she thought evidently was a comforting manner.

Kushina sighed as Minato gave a few chuckles at his daughter's words.

"You're the best kaa-chan in the world," Akane promised solemnly, stunning her mother into silence as her not-ever-four-years-old-yet daughter raised her head to smile widely at her violet-eyed mother.

"Thanks, sweetie," Kushina said, halfway between amused and elated at hearing how highly her daughter viewed her. "Why don't we go by a training ground after lunch and you can show Kaa-chan and Tou-chan how good you are with the kunai and shuriken?"

Kushina and Minato weren't sure that they had ever seen Akane beam quite so brightly.

"Really?" she practically gushed, her legs beating back and forth under her chair. "I'm not in trouble?"

"Oh, no," Kushina corrected her, causing Minato to hide his smile and laugh behind his hand as he watched his daughter and wife interact, it was something that he had missed greatly during the war, "you're _definitely_ in trouble, missy, but we'll decide how much trouble you're in when we get back."

"Aw…" Akane slumped in her sit, her chopsticks still stabbing at her fish. "Tou-chan!" Akane turned her pleading blue eyes on her father. She'd used the look on him countless times before and he had folded like wet paper, after all, what father didn't utterly dote on his daughter?

Minato chuckled nervously. "Um…" He glanced towards his wife who was remarkably unhelpful , giving him a rather daring look in return. "Kushina, help me out!"

"Fight your own battles, darling," Kushina said from behind her cup. "She's your daughter."

Akane grinned as her father bowed his head slightly with a groan. It was always funny to watch her father with her mother and how he sought to never anger her.

"Eat your lunch, Akane-chan," Kushina said sweetly, her eyes twinkling as she met her daughter's, "we'll talk about your punishment after you show us your hand at throwing your shuriken and kunai, alright?"

"Alright," Akane said, slightly sullenly as she captured a piece of fish between her chopsticks and popped it into her mouth.

"I'm going to assume that young Itachi is somehow involved in all of this," Minato added in a mild voice and Akane nearly choked on her food before swallowing with difficulty.

If Akane was older she might have been embarrassed, finding the design of the table to be quite fascinating, but Akane was an innocent child who was quite attached to her best friend. So she beamed a bit shamelessly.

"Yeah!" she said. "We practiced together and—" She froze suddenly looking as though she had said something she shouldn't have. She glanced nervously between her parents.

"There is nothing wrong with having a sparring buddy," Kushina informed her, making her relax, "however…" Now she was tense again. "We will be telling Mikoto that you and her son have been training together when we expressly told you not to go near real weapons."

Akane winced and Minato chuckled.

"Don't worry, I don't think your punishment is nearly as severe as your mother is making it out to be," Minato assured his daughter with a light grin.

"Minato!" Kushina hissed, her cheeks only lightly flushed as her husband and daughter giggled and chuckled together as if they were the only ones in on a secret. "You can't tell her that!"

Minato winked at Akane and the little red-haired girl had to slap her hands over her mouth in order to silence the laughter blooming from her lips.

"I'm trying to be an adult over here, Minato!" Kushina reprimanded her husband, her cheeks burning a brighter red.

"I'm an adult too!"

Kushina huffed in disdain towards her grinning husband and her struggling-to-remain-silent daughter. "Akane-chan, finish your lunch."

"Yes, Kaa-chan," Akane said, her words slurred with giggles as she tucked into her fish with a renewed enthusiasm, eager to finish quickly so that she could show her parents just how good she had gotten at throwing weapons.

* * *

><p>Akane and Itachi were only slightly dressed up, given that the Yondaime Hokage was going to be named later that day, but they'd managed to convince their parents out of the formal kimono that most heirs would be wearing. But seeing as the pair were going to be out practicing their weapon throwing skills, they'd opted for a more casual wear.<p>

Akane was wearing a simple pale blue top that bore her mother's clan symbol on one shoulder and her father's on the other and dark shorts. Itachi didn't really bother with any color outside of the red-and-white fan between his shoulder blades.

"Try to do three at a time," Kakashi advised, scrutinizing the bulls eye that Itachi had gust nailed into one of the training posts.

"Three at a time?" Itachi asked, his brow furrowing as he looked at the three kunai Kakashi was holding out to him. Akane moved forward with an expression of curiosity on her face as well.

"That's right," Kakashi said.

Normally it would be a little irritating towards him that he was degraded to babysitter by both his sensei and the head of the Uchiha Clan, though he supposed it wasn't entirely too bad, considering how well behaved Akane and Itachi were (still, he remembered a time when Akane had picked up the nasty habit of puking on him, something she had thankfully grown out of).

"Shinobi can throw more than one weapon with one hand if they practice hard enough," he explained, lacing the three kunai in the junctions between his fingers, straightening into a stance and flicking his arm.

Akane _"Ooh!"_ed when he hit the bulls eye with each kunai and even Itachi was impressed; Kakashi had gathered that the serious boy was so rarely impressed.

"You probably won't get it right away," Kakashi said, striding forward to wrench the kunai out of their targets. "But if you want something to work on, since you've got throwing a single weapon with accuracy and precision down, I'd suggest this."

Akane clapped her hands together in excitement, but Itachi was far more restrained as he took the three kunai from Kakashi, positioning them awkwardly between his fingers before releasing them.

A small frown marred his lips as none of them hit the center, in fact, one nearly didn't make it onto the target, landing in the furthest ring from the center, and the others are only slightly closer.

"My turn, my turn!" Akane cried eagerly and Kakashi glanced at her wondering if she was interested in showing her friend up, but, then again, that wouldn't have been like her in the slightest. Akane wasn't one for arrogance.

"Actually, we've run out of time—"

Itachi actually smiled as Akane jutted out her lower lip in a pout.

"—Your dad's going to be named the Yondaime Hokage in about ten minutes, and you don't want to be at the back of the crowd, do you?" Kakashi asked, quirking the eyebrow over his only visible eye.

"I guess not," Akane bemoaned, handing the three kunai back to her nii-chan with an exaggerated sigh before tugging at the leg of his pants with a serious expression on her face. "We'll finish this later," she promised.

"Yes, we will," Kakashi said, knowing better than to disagree with Uzumaki Kushina's daughter. "Now, come on."

He held out a hand to the red-haired girl, and she took it easily, grabbing onto Itachi's before he could duck away, but he didn't look to put out by having to hold hands with his best friend. Akane had that affect on people, and Itachi was one of the people that had known her the longest, despite their young ages.

And then he was leading them into the village towards the Hokage Tower, upon which a number of figures could be seen gathering just as there were people gathering in the street below it. If Akane squinted her eyes hard enough, she could see her father's bright blonde hair and she grinned, waving feverishly upwards.

At first, she doubted the future Hokage would see her waving, but then he waved back and her grin widened so much that it nearly hurt.

The street was soon flooded with people and Uchiha Mikoto arrived for her son, though she did not stray too far from Akane and Kakashi (possibly keeping an eye on the girl in the crowd because of a request from Kushina). Once the crowd quieted, Kakashi lifted Akane up to rest on his shoulders so that she might see better.

Akane threaded her smaller hands into his silver hair staring up at the Heads of the Clans and the Advisors to the Hokage as well as the Sandaime Hokage himself stood before her father, newly garbed in a white haori patterned with red flames and bearing the kanji for "Yondaime Hokage" down its back.

She watched impatiently as Sarutobi Hiruzen removed the hat from his head and handed it off to her father who took it from him politely, inclining his own head towards his predecessor as he placed it securely on his own head.

"I'm counting on you, Yondaime Hokage," Hiruzen said in a low voice that made it impossible for anyone other than those on the roof to hear him.

"I shall dedicate my life to protecting the village," Minato promised, giving a short bow, wearing a brief solemn expression on his face before moving towards the balcony to greet the village as the next Hokage.

The cheers that exploded humbled him, but he searched for Akane in the crowd –and she wasn't hard to find with the bright color of her hair– and he was pleased to see that she had joined in with the crowd, yelling in jubilation and waving her arms.

And that made Minato's smile widen.

**AN: Another chapter done! Whoo! I'm not sure when I'll be killing Minato off…maybe in chapter five…but I'll miss him! I really enjoy writing him and the relationship he has with Akane, but I knew I wasn't going to keep him alive…**

**PLEASE REVIEW! **


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